Dean Dudley

“ We have never heard that there are two unbegotten beings, nor that one has been divided into two. We have neither been taught, my lord, nor do we believe that the Divinity has ever undergone any change of a temporal nature; but we affirm that there is one who is unbegotten, and that there also exists another who did in truth proceed from him, yet who was not made out of his substance, and who does not at all participate in the nature or substance of him who is unbegotten. ”

“ Arius and Euzoius came, and presented to the emperor their declaration of faith. It was as follows:—"We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, and in the Lord Jesus Christ his Son, who was made of Him before all ages; God the Word, by whom all things were made, which are in the heavens and upon the earth; who descended, became incarnate, suffered, rose again, ascended into the heavens, and will again come to judge the living and the dead. ”

“ How then can any one, unless indeed his intellect be deranged, presume to inquire into the nature of the Word of God? It is said by the spirit of prophecy, 'Who shall declare his generation?' (Isa. liii. 8.) And, therefore, our Saviour said: 'No man knoweth the Son but the Father, and no man knoweth the Father save the Son.' (Matt. xi. 27.) It was, I think, concerning this same subject that the Father said, 'My secret is for me and for mine.' Paul has thus written concerning Christ, 'Whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.' (Heb. i. 2.) ”

“ Gallus and Julian were sons of Julius Constantius, and Dalmatius had two sons, named Dalmatius and Hannibalianus. Crispus was an amiable and accomplished youth. Eusebius, the historian, calls him a "brave and pious son." He had been engaged in his father's wars since 17 years of age, and had the deserved esteem and admiration of the court, the army and the people. "This dangerous popularity," says Gibbon, "soon excited the attention of Constantine, who, both as a father and as a king, was impatient of an equal." ”

“ Another day appointed for the Council, and upon which the disputes were to be terminated, [1] when every one of whom the Synod consisted would, of course, be in attendance, a large number of seats were placed in the middle hall, itself, of the palace, this apartment being apparently more spacious than any other. The seats having been arranged in a row on either side, all who had been summoned coming in, sat down together, each in his own place. Then the whole Council, with dignified modesty, becoming calm, all for the first time preserved silence, awaiting the approach of the emperor. ”

“ The reply of Victorinus, addressed to Candidus, the Arian, begins thus:—"Is it your great intelligence, O noble Candidus, which has so fascinated me? To say of God, that man is above him, would be audacious. ”

“ Constantine was not a great man in depth and penetration of intellect, but exceedingly shrewd, prompt, and energetic in all the affairs of life, and inspired by such unbounded selfish ambition, that he overcame difficulties, which far greater souls would have deemed insurmountable. ”

“ No one of the bishops was excluded from the imperial table. The proceedings on this occasion were sublime beyond description. The soldiers of the emperor's body-guard were drawn up before the door of the palace with their bare swords. The men of God (the bishops) passed along undaunted between their files into the interior of the palace. Some sat at the same table with the emperor himself; the others at side tables. One might easily imagine that one beheld the type of Christ's kingdom."—Life of Constantine, book iii. ”

“ All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made.' If, then, all things were made by him, how is it that He who bestowed existence on all, could at any period have had no existence himself? The Word who created cannot be of the same nature as the things created. For He was in the beginning, and all things were made by him, and were called by him out of nothing into being: he who is said to have existed before all things, must differ entirely from those things which were called out of nothing into being. ”

“ The Father is the Father because he has a Son, hence it is that he is called a Father. He did not beget his Son in time. Is it not impiety to say that the wisdom of God was at one period not in existence? for it is written, 'I was with Him, being joined to Him, I was his delight.' (Prov. viii.) The Sonship of our Saviour has nothing in common with the sonship of men. Wisdom is not susceptible of folly. ”

“ I pray that, now the impious hostility of the tyrants has been forever removed by the power of God our Saviour, that spirit who delights in evil may devise no other means for exposing the divine records to blasphemous calumny; for, in my judgment, intestine strife within the Church of God is far more evil and dangerous than any kind of war or conflict ”

“ It having come to the knowledge of the great and holy Council, that, in certain places and cities, the eucharist is administered, by deacons, to presbyters, and neither law nor custom permitting that those, who have no authority to offer the body of Christ, should deliver it to those who have; and it being also understood, that some deacons receive the eucharist before even the bishops, let, therefore, all these irregularities be removed, and let the deacons remain within their own limits, knowing that they are ministers of the bishops, and inferior to the presbyters. ”

“ The language of the Council's decree was, "If any has been deformed by physicians on account of a physical infirmity, or has been mutilated by barbarians, he may, nevertheless, remain among the clergy. But, if any, being sane, has dismembered himself, it becomes necessary, both that he should be prohibited from being established among the clergy, [11] and that no such one should be successively promoted." ”

“ When they perceived the gain resulting from his sale of ordinances, they felt unable to remain in subjection to the church; they accordingly constructed caverns, like those of robbers, in which they constantly assemble; and, day and night, they there invent calumnies against the Saviour, and against us. They revile the religious doctrines of the apostles; and, having, like the Jews, conspired against Christ, they deny his divinity, and declare him to be on a level with other men. ”

“ Pray for us all, that what we have equitably decreed, may remain steadfast, through our Lord Jesus Christ, being done, as we trust, according to the good-will of God and the Father in the Holy Ghost, to whom be glory forever and ever. ”

“ We believe in one catholic and apostolical church, which cannot be destroyed, and which never fails to defeat all the impious designs of heretics. Besides this we receive the doctrine of the resurrection from the dead, of which Jesus Christ, our Lord, became the first fruits. ”

“ It seems to me that faith and hope, which are considered the principal parts of religion, are peculiarly poetical themes. They are not scientific deductions, or historical facts. All men have capacity to enjoy them, whereas but few can comprehend or appreciate a logical argument, or oven understand what is sufficient evidence to establish great theological dogmas. Most people must, therefore, necessarily found their belief upon the statements and practice of others ”

“ However, God, as he is the first cause of all things, so he is the father in respect to all things. If, therefore, God is unchangeable and immutable, inasmuch as he is unchangeable and immutable, he is neither begotten nor made. ”

“ After Peter, the illustrious champion of the faith, had, during the sway of wicked tyrants, obtained the crown of martyrdom, the Church of Alexandria was ruled, for a short time, by Achillas. [2] He was succeeded by Alexander [in 312] , who was the foremost in defending the doctrines of the gospel. Arius, [3] whose name was then enrolled among the presbytery, and who was intrusted with the exposition of the Holy Scriptures, was induced to oppose Alexander's doctrines,—that the Son is equal with the Father, and of the same substance with God who begat him. ”

“ It is the duty of science to dispel and discourage such things. Hence we often find the great savans, like Huxley and Tyndall, boldly opposing time-honored fallacies and false doctrines of the religious sects. The Council of Nice set the example of trying to compel Christians to adopt its modes of faith. That plan was not so fair as those pursued by the great philosophers. I suppose the Nicene fathers considered faith in Christ and the resurrection from the dead, as the fundamental doctrines of their religion. ”

“ We positively affirm that we hold this faith, that we have always held it, and that we shall adhere to it even unto death, condemning all ungodly heresy. We testify, as before God the Almighty and our Lord Jesus Christ, that we have believed in these truths from the heart and from the soul, ever since we have been capable of reflection ”

“ When all those who were capable of enduring the fatigue of the journey, had arrived at Nice, he went thither himself, as much from the wish of seeing the bishops, as from the desire of preserving unanimity amongst them. ”

“ We are persecuted because we say that the Son had a beginning, but that God was without beginning. This is really the cause of our persecution; and, likewise, because we say that he is from nothing [from not any thing] . And this we say, because he is neither part of God, nor of any subjacent matter. For this are we persecuted; the rest you know. Farewell."
Of those whose names are mentioned in this letter, Eusebius was bishop of Cæsarea, Theodotius was bishop of Laodicea, Paulinus of Tyre, Athanasius of Anazarbus, Gregory of Berea, and Ætius of Lydda, which is now called Diospolis. ”

“ The emperor had great faith in prayer. He says, "The righteous prayer is a thing invincible, and no one fails to attain his object who addresses holy supplication to God." He believed in a judgment and future punishment for the wicked. The principal faults of this founder of the Christian power in Rome were, according to Mosheim, Gibbon and other historians, very similar to those of our English sovereign Henry VIII., founder of the Protestant ascendency in Great Britain. ”

“ The followers of Eusebius, who were led by evil doctrines, then assembled for deliberation, and came to the following conclusions: We are also of God. 'There is but one God of whom are all things.' (1 Cor. vi. 8.) 'Old things are passed away; behold all things are become new, and all things are of God.' (2 Cor. v. 17, 18.) ”

“ The Son of God is not unbegotten, for the Father alone is unbegotten, but the manner in which the Son was begotten of God is inexplicable, and beyond the comprehension of the evangelist, and perhaps of angels. ”

“ As he has true regard for the soul, it appeared natural that he should be adorned with the fear of God and with religion. And this his downcast eyes, the flush upon his countenance, and the motion of his body, as well as his step, all indicated. ”

“ OF CÆSAREA, CONCERNING THE SAME THINGS, WITH OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES.
"It is likely that you have learnt, from other sources, what was decided respecting the faith of the church at the general Council of Nice; for the fame of great transactions generally precedes the accurate detail of them. But, lest rumors not strictly founded in truth should have reached you, I think it necessary to send to you, first, the formulary of faith originally proposed by us; and, secondly, the additions appended to it by the bishops when setting it forth. ”

“ To argue consistently they, as a necessary consequence, affirm that he is by nature liable to change, and capable of both virtue and vice. Their hypothesis of his having been created, contradicts the testimony of the divine scriptures, which declare the immutability, the divinity, and the wisdom of the Word, which Word is Christ. ”

“ He cannot entirely understand his own nature. The substance of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are entirely different, the one from the other.
"These three persons are, in their essence, thoroughly and infinitely dissimilar.
"God is ineffable, and nothing (therefore not even the Son) is equal to or like Him, or of the same glory.
"This eternal God made the Son before all creatures, and adopted Him for His Son. The Son has nothing in his own nature akin to God, and is not like to Him in essence."—Clark's Hefele.
Sentences from Athanasius. ”

“ This was effected by Constantine, a prince deserving of the highest praise; who, like the divine apostle, was not called by man, or through man, but by God. He enacted laws prohibiting sacrifices to idols, and commanding churches to be erected. He appointed believers to be the governors of the provinces, ordered that honor should be shown to the priests, and threatened with death those who dared to insult them. ”

“ Many of the bishops and of the inferior clergy attracted the notice of the emperor and the court by these disputations, and Athanasius, in particular, greatly distinguished himself in the preliminary assemblies.
Hermias here proceeds to narrate the miracle, as he calls it, by which a heathen philosopher was confounded and converted by a simple old man, who advised him not to expend his labor in vain by striving to disprove facts which could only be understood by faith. The hero of this exploit is said to have been Spyridon, the shepherd-bishop. ”